My Magical Week at Paizo

Monday, June 28, 2010

When Erik Mona called me during my weekly game of Council of Thieves, I suspected it was for some purpose other than to earn me a free reroll. (Note: Any time a Paizo employee calls you during a Pathfinder game, it is required that your GM allow you one rerolled d20.) Erik’s reason for the call was to ask me to stay in Seattle a week longer than I’d planned after PaizoCon in order to help fill the massive Inner Sea map for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio for release later this year.

That I said yes should go without saying.

Working at Paizo, even for a week, is a dream come true. Whether I’m casually catching glimpses of new art for the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 and the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: World Guide—The Inner Sea, playing an oracle of bones using final Advanced Player’s Guide rules in Josh Frost’s office game, or taking part in a super-secret editorial meeting to work out some exciting products on the 2011 calendar, the last five days still seem partially unreal.

But don’t let me discount the huge amount of work that gets done on a daily basis in the Paizo offices, and the vast pile of work yet to do. I have personally gone through every Adventure Path volume through Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv and have mined almost 500 specific, named locations, many of which will appear on the final poster map. Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens has been covering the Pathfinder Modules line and just got through Cheliax in the campaign setting hardcover (the Katharevousa River, which flows by Kintargo, has yet to be tagged on a map, for example). Needless to say, this is a massive project. While there’s still a long way to go, I can already tell that this map will absolutely blow the mind of anyone who’s ever hoarded RPG maps or who (like me) has a penchant for world continuity and canon.

Thanks to the members of the messageboards and PathfinderWiki who helped with suggestions of extremely esoteric and obscure locations from the last 3 years of Pathfinder products. Look for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio in stores and on paizo.com this fall.

Mark Moreland (aka yoda8myhead)
PathfinderWiki Administrator

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Community Mark Moreland Paizo Pathfinder Campaign Setting Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Pathfinder Wiki
Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

Rock on, Mark!

Shadow Lodge

This is pretty awesome, I'm glad you got this chance.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32

So now that you've officially worked at the Paizo office, I guess you aren't allowed to participate in PaizoCon 2011 trivia contest. Us non-Razmirans may actually have a shot next year. ;)

Dark Archive

What scrumptious secrets you must be privy to ...

Your double dose of Sodium Pentothal awaits our next CoT game where we will have ways of making you talk ... May the saints of NDA preserve you.

Tell James and the rest that a Cleric, a Paladin and my Evoker are breezing through The Infernal Syndrome sans your misguided Bard who is on a map making holiday and they need to toughen up the APs stat.

Spoiler:
I kid ! But we are kicking A$$

Spoiler:
Explosive Runes on Map!


I'm kinda jealous.

Dark Archive

So how are you managing to mesh "PathfinderWiki Admin" and "NDA"? Are there not a million things by now that you want to stick in the wiki but you can't?

Sczarni

Nevynxxx wrote:
So how are you managing to mesh "PathfinderWiki Admin" and "NDA"? Are there not a million things by now that you want to stick in the wiki but you can't?

One of the reasons the wiki requires references is that it allows contributors to notice when they would have been violating the NDA and edit their posts early


Nevynxxx wrote:
So how are you managing to mesh "PathfinderWiki Admin" and "NDA"? Are there not a million things by now that you want to stick in the wiki but you can't?

The location tags I've pulled from canon sources can go up on the wiki if I ever get the time. Anything I'm privy to that hasn't been publicly announced gets to stay in my brain until such time as Paizo decides it can be officially put on the schedule. Honestly, I now see how much specific elements of a product can change over the course of development, anything that isn't finished and out would probably be more work in the long run if it were put up on the wiki early.

Sczarni

Did you add Brunderton from the Kingmaker players guide race section? I just thought of our conversation about it when I was bringing you to the train station last time you came to CT


This is simply awesome.

The more I read about Paizo and the way that they interact with their fans and supporters, the more I like.


Couldn't have happened to a nicer, or more qualified, guy.


Congrats, Mark!
I am very happy for you, considering your dedication to this game and this company.
A bit jealous, but happy for you nonetheless ;)


Why is there no art preview in this blog post?! For shame!


Feed me Seymour!


Blog Police wrote:
Why is there no art preview in this blog post?! For shame!

I blame ::rolls dice:: Mark Moreland this time around. Because he was too busy getting his Paizo fix he forgot the rest of us!

:)

oh look all three of our alters in a row !

Spoiler:
EXPLOSIVE RUNES WST style


Looks like he's just a (product) name dropper ;).

In all seriousness, congrats and have fun!

Grand Lodge

Who is this strange beardless man posing as Mark?
I call doppleganger!

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

That photo was so connivingly framed. You're hard at work but there isn't a hint of what you're working on. Where are our spoilers?

Seriously, congrats Mark. It's good to hear your week as a Paizo employee lived up to your high expectations.

Sczarni

Ryan. Costello wrote:

That photo was so connivingly framed. You're hard at work but there isn't a hint of what you're working on. Where are our spoilers?

Seriously, congrats Mark. It's good to hear your week as a Paizo employee lived up to your high expectations.

No the picture on Jason's fanpage on facebook tells us what he's been doing all week...


I hope you left your resume... :)

Paizo Employee Director of Game Design

Cpt_kirstov wrote:
No the picture on Jason's fanpage on facebook tells us what he's been doing all week...

For those of you on the book of faces...

Creepy

Jason


Truly, truly...

Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games

Creepiest "Man in the Window" picture *EVER*. I'd be rowing like I believed I needed to get the frick outta there! :)


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Jason Bulmahn wrote:
Cpt_kirstov wrote:
No the picture on Jason's fanpage on facebook tells us what he's been doing all week...

For those of you on the book of faces...

Creepy

Jason

RUN!!!!! I think he wants to eat your brains and take your job.;)

And Congrats Mark, can't wait to hang that map on my wall.

Scarab Sages

Mark, so cool you get to do that!
Rock on!


You know, if you put a silhouette of a hawk on that window, he might get scared off, or at least stop walking into it...

Dark Archive

so, is this map going to be one large foldout or chopped up into mosaic tiles of 8-1/2 x 11 sheets that we have to piece together on our walls?


Soliloquies wrote:
so, is this map going to be one large foldout or chopped up into mosaic tiles of 8-1/2 x 11 sheets that we have to piece together on our walls?

At 32 panels, it should come out to 4 8-panel posters that all line up. So there will be minimal piecing together involved, but there will be some.

Liberty's Edge

yoda8myhead wrote:
Soliloquies wrote:
so, is this map going to be one large foldout or chopped up into mosaic tiles of 8-1/2 x 11 sheets that we have to piece together on our walls?
At 32 panels, it should come out to 4 8-panel posters that all line up. So there will be minimal piecing together involved, but there will be some.

Such is life, I'll just have to get a big enough piece of cardboard to rubber cement them to.

:D


Jason Nelson wrote:
Creepiest "Man in the Window" picture *EVER*. I'd be rowing like I believed I needed to get the frick outta there! :)

Row like the Nomoreland Ghost is after your soul!


Congrats Mark.


I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.

Seriously, this is a very good year for Paizo fans!

Sovereign Court

Wow, a week at Paizo! Congrats!


Twin Agate Dragons wrote:
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.

Thanks so much for the earworm. >_<


Congratulations, Mark/Yoda!
Yes, slowly, slowly...soon the fans in Paizo will outnumber the staffmembers themselves. Then we will strike!
Muahahaha. Soon, kobolds will be permitted in PFOP.

:P


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Congratulations, Mark/Yoda!

Yes, slowly, slowly...soon the fans in Paizo will outnumber the staffmembers themselves. Then we will strike!
Muahahaha. Soon, kobolds will be permitted in PFOP.

:P

Looks around, don't we already outnumber the Paizo staff members? Viva la Revolution!

And get their APG's well we are at it.:)

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